The Writing Bar
by ChloboShoka
Summary: The Luxbourne Quartet's writing group was being held at a different venue. Zachary decides to invite Hannah to the meet-up and gets a bit of luck of his own. Zachannah one-shot.


**The Writing Bar **

Becca: Don't forget it's the writing group tonight.  
Isabella: Can't wait!  
Ashton: Isn't the cafe closed tonight?  
Zachary: Yeah, it is.  
Ashton: Why don't you try the pub next door?  
Becca: A pub?  
Isabella: Yeah, a pub sounds good – others will join in.  
Becca: There must be a better way to bring people in.  
Zachary: Oh I know, I'll ask Hannah!  
Becca: Hannah Wright?  
Zachary: Yeah, I bet she'll love it. She runs a book club on Sunday. I'll pop in and see her after work.

Zachary put his phone in his pocket. He cycled down to Hannah Wright's new house to be greeted by her husband. Luke Wright appeared as if he had just finished work with his tie hanging around his shoulders and his blazer only half on. Zachary smiled and waved. "Oh hey there!"

Luke had a cigar in one hand and a shot of absinthe in his left. "What do you want?"

"Oh, I just called in to see if Hannah was home?"

Luke bit into the cigar and tossed his blazer on a hanger. He leaned over and held his glass as if he owned the place."OH BUTTERCUP! HAGRID'S AT THE DOOR!"

"Darling," Hannah moaned, walking pass her husband with her arms folded. "Don't be so rude! It's bad for business." Her misery faded the moment she saw Zachary's face. She clapped her hands together and hugged him tightly. "Why hello Zachary! Fancy seeing you here."

"Well, we've got a writing group tonight. I was wondering you wanted to come along?"

"Oh, that sounds delightful!" Hannah placed her feet back on the ground. "Where's it at?"

"The cafe we normally do it at is closed for refurbishment. So we're holding it at the G bar tonight."

"Oh, that's where Marianne and I go for karaoke! Will Becca be there?"

"Of course Becca will be there: she runs it."

"Oh, that sounds wonderful. I've been meaning to catch up with her for some time now."

"So what time does it start?"

"It starts at 7."

"Then I better get my handbag." Hannah kneels down and grabs her white handbag with purple butterflies. "Oh Luke, darling. I'm going out to a writing group, darling. Please try and get Henry into the bath tonight and don't forget Annalise's bedtime story."

Hannah slammed the door, leaving her dumbstruck husband in her shoes for once. On the journey to the bar, Hannah told Zachary about the kind of poems that she used to write about romantic serenades and adventures across the countryside. Zachary enjoyed poetry, feeling it offered in-depth analysis of humankind and nature. A part of him wanted to apologize for the ride not being a fancy carriage. But the bike's seat was generous – enough for the two to sit in comfort.

"This could make a story in itself," Hannah said as Zachary parked up the bike. "That was the first time I've been on a bicycle before."

Zachary gasped. "It was?"

"Well, I've been on a moped, a private air-jet, helicopter and many cars, but not a traditional bicycle."

"They say there's a first time for everything."

"And you still have no lucky lady or guy?" Hannah asked.

"Nope."

"I still can't believe nobody's bagged you up yet." She placed her hands on her hips and giggled. "We'll have to do something about that."

"Hold on a minute, this is a writing group: not a dating group."

Hannah laughed and nudged his shoulder. "Well, a little bit of flirting never did any harm."

"Try telling that to Katherine Howard."

"As in the fifth wife of Henry VIII?"

"That's right."

Zachary pointed at her wedding ring. "And don't forget about that. I don't think your husband would be happy."

"Oh, my dear Luke's slept with eight women this week. It's my turn to have some fun."

"Hannah!" Zachary pulled her back out of the door. "I got a question: why do you stay with Luke if he cheats on you all the time?"

"Oh we still love each other," Hannah responded. "We stay together for the sake of the children. Things haven't always been perfect between us, but having Henry and Annalise has brought us closer. I've never seen Luke so happy in all my life."

They found it easy to spot Becca at the back of the bar with her short pink hair. She was sitting next to Isabella. A bunch of the other regulars where there. Even Ashton, who rarely comes to the meet-ups was sitting there with a drink in his hand. "Looks like we've got a good turnout tonight. Hey everybody."

"Hi, Zach!" Becca said with a smile on her face. "Oh, Hannah! Hi there!"

"Oh! We've got a new member!" Isabella said.

As soon as it started to quieten down, Becca rang the bell as if she was still in class. "Thank you all for coming. I think it's going to be quite a good meet up this week. And first I would like to welcome our new member, Hannah Wright, which I'm sure many of you might have heard off."

"I do!" the brunette wearing red at the back of the table said with her hand up. "I loved your blog."

"Thank you," Hannah said.

"So what's everyone been writing this week?"

"I had a brilliant story," Isabella cried out with joy. "I drew pictures for it and everything. But it's still in my head. I did bring something else. The one I was supposed to bring in last week for the lost and found assignment."

"You can still talk about it" Hannah said.

"It's about a raging dragon that ends up falling in love with a prince. Then she turns into a princess and they own an art shop in Kent."

Becca didn't seem impressed, but she smiled anyway. "That sounds pretty random. And what about you Ashton?"

Ashton shrugged his shoulders. "I've got a haiku for you. Well, it's for Isabella.

Bella farts a lot  
I blame the instant noodles  
I still love her though."

"It's definitely a haiku!" Zachary said. "Five. Seven. Five."

After seconds of awkward giggles, Isabella hissed, "I don't know why you come: you never write."

Ashton crossed his legs and laughed. "I enjoy listening to the stories. Who knows? Maybe I'll write one of my own. By the way, I think I should tell you that Eric won't be coming tonight: I arrested him!"

"Why?" Hannah asked.

"Was he excreting in public again?" Becca asked.

Ashton shook his head. "I can't say: it's confidential for now. But you'll see it in the Daily Mail tomorrow."

"So you said you had another story?" Becca asked Isabella. They exchanged nods. "Well then let's hear it."

Isabella read out a short story about a lost turtle in Manilla looking for her father who hopped on the train to Manila. The baby turtle was scared by the flashing cameras and the busy road. In the end, the baby turtle and her papa were united at Starbucks and at the end of the story were taken back home on the beach where they were reunited with their family under the moonlight.

"Did nobody see the father turtle hop the train?" Becca asked.

Isabella shook her head. "They were too busy on their phone."

"Why did Papa-turtle go to Manila?" Hannah asked.

Ashton swung in his chair. "To get his Starbucks coffee!"

Isabella grabbed him by the collar and brought his chair back on the floor. "Don't spoil the series."

"Well I thought it was very good," Hannah said, clapping her hands. "Very imaginative. I used to have a pet turtle named Boris."

The next stories read out followed on from the 'lost and found' theme. None of them included turtles, but one included wedding bells, another included a mishap of ashes and another involved an unloved journalist. Zachery's poem about losing his parents brought tears to some the member's eyes – Isabella cried the most.

So nobody was expected for May's story which involved two male lawyers into bondage. May was loud when she read it. The bartender ended up dropping a glass.

"So what did you think of that?" May asked.

No one dared speak. Zachary and Hannah looked at each other and then looked around the rest of the people on the table.

"The usual please," Ashton shouted across the bar. "Make it a double this time."

"A shame Eric wasn't here," Becca said, her hands trembling into her notebook. "He would have loved that."

"How do you know?" Ashton roared. "Wait, do I want to know."

"He read out a story inspired by the 2 girls and 1 cup film," Isabella noted. "It was scary."

"What's 2 girls and 1 cup?" Hannah asked at the sight of Zachary gagging. "Are you alright? Is it really that bad?"

Ashton sighed with relief. "I am so glad I didn't go last week."

Becca squinted. "It's a horrible video: don't try and look it up."

Hannah looked over at Zachary again. "Why don't you tell me what it is. You're into films."

"Not those sort of films. I cross the line with porn."

"Oh, so it's a porn video? Maybe Luke's seen it."

"There are these two girls," Zachery explained, "then there's this cup and they er- well shit happens. That's the polite way of putting it."

Becca crossed her arms and slammed her notebook. "Overly polite. I think we should move on from that. Hannah do you have anything you want to read out to us. Of course, there's no pressure since you've just joined. But thought I'd ask anyway."

"I've only got a short poem," Hannah admitted. "It's not very good. It's rubbish early."

"We're not allowed to call our work rubbish!" Isabella cried out.

He's too pure for this world  
It can't be true  
That I am his first

His kisses are tender  
His making is poignant  
He does it like a pro  
With an ambient glow

Turns frowns to crowns  
A man with child  
My babes: not his by blood  
But raises them with tenderness  
Unlike candles in the storm

Ashton kept his eyes on Zachary the whole time when Hannah read the poem out. Given Luke's track record, it's hard to imagine that poem was about him. They couldn't say anything else just in case the socialite fell into a scandal. But they commented on how much they enjoyed the imagery.

After the group had a few more drinks and did more reading, they decided to call it a day and made their way back home. Some stayed at the bar for more drinks. Those that attended and those that heard the stories will never be able to shake the imagery of male lawyers whipping the hell out of each other in frilly knickers.

Zachary couldn't stop thinking about Hannah's poem. It was romantic, and it struck a chord with him. He felt that there was something sexual about the poem, so it couldn't have been about him – he's a virgin. It had to be about another guy.

Maybe it was about Luke. Perhaps it's something that Hannah wrote down when she was younger. Thinking about the poem was giving him a headache, although he did like it.

"So what did you think of the meet-up?" Zachary asked as he and Hannah headed off home.

"I had a marvellous time." Hannah cuddled him. Her smile lifted his spirits. "I'll be coming again next week, and I'll be telling everyone in the book club about it."

"So who was that poem about?" Zachary asked. He had to know. He wouldn't get any sleep until he found out who it was for. "No offence, but it doesn't sound like it's about your husband. Of course, if you'd rather not tell me than that's fine..."

Hannah said nothing. The kiss was her answer.

Zachary stumbled back against the tree, his bike rammed against this leg. "ME?" he screeched with hot flushed cheeks. "That poem was about me?"

"Of course it was about you, sweetheart," Hannah announced. "Even your friends figured it out. That's why Ashton was looking at you the way he did."

"But I'm still a virgin," Zachary whispered. Hannah chuckled as she ventured off into the park. Zachary followed her, with an accelerating heartbeat. "Wait up! I've still never been in a relationship, so how could have been about me?"

Hannah skipped towards the spot where they danced eight years ago. Under the spotlight where Hannah told him that the seventies wanted their swing back. "Oh bless you. Did you really think it was about sex? The first stanza is the day we first met. The second stanza is how I would imagine you in bed. And the third stanza represents how kind you've been towards me and my children."

"It was the least I could do," Zachary admitted. "You were the one that helped me set up my studio. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be living out my dream."

"Can I stay at yours tonight?"

"You can if you like, it's just a few problems, what about your family? And I haven't got round to cleaning my place out yet."

"I'm sure I can think of a little white lie...I could say that I slept at Becca's house or checked in at a B&B. And I can always help you tidy up if you need it. We don't have to have sex, we can just carry on talking about poetry or anything else."

Zachery's phone vibrated in his pocket. Ashton had sent him a message: _It looks like you've pulled. Be careful, you know who she's married to. Anything incriminating comes up, let me know, okay?_


End file.
